Battle of Blanchetaque

The Battle of Blanchetaque was a minor battle fought on 24 August 1346 during the Hundred Years' War. King Edward III of England's army met a small French force under Godemar I du Fay at the Blanchetaque ford during its retreat from Poissy, and the ensuing battle was an English victory. The English, however, continued their retreat north, ultimately resulting in the Battle of Crecy.

Background
Following the English army's sack of Caen in July 1346, King Edward III of England and his generals marched on Paris, plundering the left bank of the Seine in a large-scale chevauchee. The English army marched as far as Poissy, 20 miles from Paris, which was then unfortified; King Philip VI of France abandoned Paris and marched to Saint-Denis to meet with his barons and their armies, preparing to bring Edward to battle. However, Edward instead decided to withdraw after five days of camping at Poissy. He found that many of the fords over the Somme had been destroyed by the French, and the French prisoner Gobin Agace told him of a ford across the river at Blanchetaque, near Abbeville. There, he found a French army under Godemar I du Fay waiting for him.

Battle
Godemar had been given 1,000 men-at-arms and 5,000 footsoldiers (including the Genoese) by King Philip, and he had been joined on the way by large numbers of local men, giving him a total of 12,000 troops. King Edward had his marshals strike into the water as his archers shot steadily at the French, and the English knights led the charge. The French defended the crossing bravely, with many of his knights (with others from Artois and Picardy) charging into the water to fight the English knights in jousts. The Genoese did much damage with their crossbows, although the English archers also fired effective mass volleys. The English ultimately made it across the river with considerable losses, and they spread out over the fields and broke the French order. Some French fled to Abbeville and others towards Saint-Riquier; there was great slaughter among them, as those on foot could not escape. Many from Abbeville, Montreuil, Rue, and Saint-Riquier were killed or captured as they were pursued for three miles. However, the English rearguard was attacked by French squiers under King John of Bohemia and Sir John of Hainault, with a number of them being killed or wounded and several horses being captured. King Philip left Airaines and learned of Godemar's defeat, shocking him; he was disappointed to find that the English had made it past Godemar, and Philip decided to halt as the river tide resumed.